Abbas Shmoozathon On Hold

According to this report in the Jewish Tribune, the Abu Mazen Shmooze With Jews Tour is off--for now. But Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, the driving force behind the initiative, says it could be revived once the volatility in the region dies down. Asked by Trib reporter Atara Beck to account for his bizarre, bonkers faith in Abbas as a "peace partner," Cotler responded:

I did bring up the issue of Hamas. It was Abbas’s view that if he and Netanyahu would come to an agreement, the Palestinian people would support it with a referendum.

If you say so, Mr. C.

Elsewhere in the Trib, Barry Rubin asks a propos Egypt, those who believe true "democracy" is looming, and the reality of incipient Islamism under the auspices of the gawdawful Muslim Brotherhood:

If one side is sophisticated and realistic while the other engages in fantasies, who do you expect to win?

In the Abbas-Cotler pairing, I think we know which one's the fantasist and which the sophisticate.